I'm by no means a Affleck fan but this movie is one of my all time favorite films. The screenplay was magnificent and the acting was phenomenal. Both Damon and Afflect established their careers with this great movie.
Yes this was a very good movie and it was an even better script but you have to think about how Ben and Matt got to were they are. You have to thank Kevin Smith because the only reason that Good Will Hunting was writen is because when Smith was filming Mallrats Ben tryed to add-lib and Kevin told him to shut the hell up and write his own script. So he did
And i think that Kevin Smith helped Ben and Matt with Good Will Hunting
Matt and Ben are an inspriation and source of motivation for all screenplay wannabees. What they achieved with this film can only be a positive thing for the movie industry.
The writing is brilliant. The scene with Robin Williams and Matt Damon, when Robin is telling Matt how he met his wife.....AWESOME.This is the only screenplay that actually made me appreciate how brilliant a script can be with nothing more than just words.
I just watched the movie while reading along with the script. This script is so good it hurts...it's cliche to call it inspirational, but that's exactly what it is.
Good will Hunting screenplay by William Goldman
by: Robert ()
Comment No. 11 17-Aug-2005, 04:00 GMT
Its funny, but no one on this board seems to have picked up that this screenplay was ghost written by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy/Sundance kid, marathon man, etc). The deal was that he would ghost write the flick and in time would be allowed to disclose. He disclosed the deal in his last book, Which Lie Did I Tell? : More Adventures in the Screen Trade (Vintage). Just go in a bookstore and look for ben and matt in the index and It will bring you right to the page explaining the deal...Sorry, but I was as dissapointed as anyone else..
good will hunting screenplay NOT by William Goldman
by: pam ()
Comment No. 13 17-Sep-2005, 16:14 GMT
Robert...go back and reread those pages. William is 'lying', having fun with the reader. At the end of the exchange he tells the truth, which is simply that his involvement was telling Damon and Affleck that Rob Reiner's comments to focus on character and family were dead on, and to cut the FBI espionage stuff. That's it.
Great film...a story about the solid bond of friendship, of particular importance to Will, as his friends are also his family...and 'would lie down in traffic for him'. Enjoyed the development of relationship with Sean...Will's initial violent distrust and then the braking down of his defenses...to the last therapy session...'we hold on this image, father and son'.
Not to drop names but thought it might be of interest to any screenwriters...I met up with an actor called Jack Davenport, just after he had played Damon's boyfriend in Talented Ripley...he said Matt told him the 'my wife used to fart in bed' bit was a total improv by Williams...if you check in script it doesn't exist.
These films are very rare...Hollywood concentrates far too much on action and not enough of these very real human dramas...beautiful...would love Damon to write another but I guess it was merely a means to an end...moviestardom... which he has now acheived. Acting is far too much fun to sit down in a darkened room and think...if someone out there has a talent for good drama...get writing...I'm getting sick of f***ing explosions.
At Reiner's request, noted screenwriter William Goldman read the script and further suggested that the film's climax ought to be Will's decision to follow his girlfriend Skylar (Driver) to California. Goldman has denied widely-spread rumors that he wrote Good Will Hunting or acted as a script doctor.[1]
It's from wikipedia, I know that may mean nothing, but hey, looks good. and i believe wikipedia
"A widespread rumor was that Good Will Hunting was actually written by William Goldman instead of its credited writers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. In his book Which Lie Did I Tell? Goldman dismisses this, claiming only to have advised them on their script."
There is also no "Good Will Hunting" or "Ben and Matt" section in the book Which Lie Did I Tell? I think you must have gleaned this info from a defunct rumor mill.
It is a good screenplay - you can definately see the diamond in the ruff. esp scenes with SEAN and WIll at river's edge, Will's reasoning for not taking the NSA job and many other little spots. It's cool to see how much rewriting and re organizing was done for the movie. This is the person deserves the Oscar, they took a good story and made it great.
Well all this talk about if Goldman confirms if he ghost wrote the script needs a little common sense. Let's see, in "Which Lie Did I Tell", I believe William wrote a bit about a father that struggled with alcoholism, and I believe he also experienced a loss very similar to Sean's in the script. Seems a little strange that "Good Will Hunting" deals with both of these topics. Also it's a little strange that these guys in their 20's are able to write a character like Sean Maguire. Seems from a perspective of someone that has experienced a bit more in their life. Another interesting thing, these guys wrote an Oscar winning screenplay on their first shot. Where's the next screenplay? They won the Oscar for Christ's sake! Oh no need to worry about that, I'm gonna go act in some crappy romcom like "Forces Of Nature". Seriously? C'mon! You don't win an Oscar and not take a second shot even if they wanted to act and not write. They could've written themselves parts they wanted not the schlock that they were doing afterwords. Just add it up. An Oscar winning screenwriter looks at your script, and gives you notes, then your script is reworked into events that are strangely similar to events in that screenwriters life. Something ain't right. Matt and Ben being sold as writers of this draft of the script is great PR and it worked.
well said kerry, of course its obvious that damon/affleck don't deserve the oscar, goldman was supposed to get his credit once ben and matt were established as stars. mirimax reneged once they were nominated because they would make too much money out of the young oscar winners/products in the future. sure they may have come up with the original idea but goldman gave it a beating heart and conscience. imagine watching somebody accept an oscar for a screenplay you poured your heart into. bill, respect.
re: Goldman's sarcasm is lost on some...
by: SoysauceMafia ()
Comment No. 21 22-Jun-2010, 07:46 GMT
According to Goldman's book, He denies the crap out of ghostwriting anything. The bits that "OMG TOTALLY CONFIRM IT" are just jokes at the ridiculous nature of the accusation.
From the book, page 333:
"I think the reason the world was so anxious to believe Matt Damon and Ben Affleck didn't write their script was simple jealousy. They were young and cute and famous; kill the fuckers. I remember when a national magazine called and said they'd been told I wrote it, I literally screamed at the writer."
